Salzburg, Austria, Dec 24, 2024 / 08:00 am

As the Advent evening turns cold and dark, a young couple lingers atop a dike dividing two nations, their mulled wine steaming in the chill. One holds a phone, the other a cup, capturing a final selfie before heading to the train station. Recently married, they chose Europe for their honeymoon to experience a “real Christmas market” — a dream that led them to Salzburg and, now, to the tiny town of Oberndorf.

“We love the song ‘Silent Night,’ and since we were already in the area…” the bride explains, laughing as her husband snaps the photo. The train waits, but the allure of Oberndorf, the birthplace of the carol, holds them a little longer.

A Christmas pilgrimage

Oberndorf, nestled along the Salzach River, is about 30 minutes from Salzburg by car. Its famed Christmas market gleams with lights and fires.

Here, on Christmas Eve in 1818, Father Joseph Mohr first strummed “Silent Night” on his guitar, accompanied by a melody composed by teacher Franz Xaver Gruber. More than 200 years later, the carol is sung in over 300 languages and was even praised by Pope Francis as his favorite Christmas song.

The song transcends the ordinary for visitors like Johannes Zeinler, a musician and organist at Klosterneuburg Monastery. “It’s almost like a hymn, something very special that brings people together,” he reflected. Zeinler noted the song’s “lullaby character” conveys a sense of security, drawing even those who struggle with its wide vocal range to church during Christmas.

The birthplace of ‘Silent Night’

Oberndorf embraces its heritage. The Silent Night Museum, Peace Path, and Christmas market are all built around the Silent Night Chapel, a modest octagonal building that replaced the original St. Nicholas Church demolished after floods in 1910.

Josef Bruckmoser, vice president of the Silent Night Society, recounted how Mohr turned to Gruber for a melody after discovering the church organ was unplayable.

“It probably wasn’t first sung during midnight Mass but later at the Nativity scene,” Bruckmoser explained. The guitar, frowned upon as secular in 1818, became an instrument of sacred resonance through this carol.

A song of peace

Every Christmas Eve, thousands gather at the Silent Night Chapel to sing the carol in six languages, celebrating a melody that has endured centuries and conflicts. During World War I, the song united soldiers on opposing sides, marking brief moments of peace amid chaos. Bruckmoser believes it will hold special significance in today’s troubled times, especially in places like Ukraine.

“This longing for peace is universal,” reflected Father Nikolaus Erber, Oberndorf’s pastor. “It begins with each of us, this reconciliation Jesus brings.”

Watch the story of Pope Francis’ favorite Christmas carol on “EWTN News In Depth” below.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.